1. Field
The present application relates to processing of leafy vegetables, and, more particularly, to a top and tail system used to process harvested leafy vegetables.
2. Related Art
In commercial harvesting and processing of leafy vegetables (e.g., heads of Romaine lettuce), leafy vegetables are typically field harvested and transported to a processing plant to be processed for market. In the processing plant, portions of the leafy ends and core ends, which are also referred to as tops and tails, of the leafy vegetables are manually trimmed in trim lines. Alternatively, portions of the leafy ends and cored ends are manually trimmed in the field before the leafy vegetables are transported to the processing plant for further processing. In both cases, the leafy vegetables tend to discolor/pink due, in part, to the natural juices that exude from cut sites.